Winter's Tales (10 page)

He also won half the kingdom and the right to ask Thora to marry him. Thora must have forgiven him for killing her pet dragon, because she smiled and said yes.

Ragnar and Thora lived happily ever after and had lots of children. And when those children asked for pets of their own, Ragnar and Thora didn't give them baby dragons. They gave them puppies instead.

I didn't invent these Winter's Tales – each of these stories has been told, somewhere in the world, for a very long time. But I do change stories as I tell them, so they make sense in my head and sound real in my voice. The stories in this collection are the versions I tell out loud, rather than exact copies of the stories that inspired me. If you share these stories, please feel free to change them too, and make them into your stories!

When I retell stories in books, I like to let readers know where I found the versions that inspired me, so you can go back and find out
more about them yourself, and also because every storyteller owes a nod of thanks to the storyteller or writer who first showed them the way into a story…

Greek myth

This is probably the best known myth about the seasons, and I've known Persephone's story since I was a child, so I have no idea where I first read it. However, the best version I ever heard, which inspired my own adaptation, was told by a very talented first year pupil at Denny High School near Falkirk. So thanks for the flowers, Sam Edgar!

Norwegian folktale

I first found this story in
Scandinavian Stories
by Margaret Sperry (published by JM Dent, 1971) and loved it immediately. I still changed it as I told it, though. My snow bear doesn't talk, for example, and my trolls might be a bit smellier…

Tsimshian folktale, Canada

I found this story a few years ago while researching a novel about shape-changing wolves in a Scottish forest. It's from a collection called
Wolf Tales: Native American Children's Stories
, edited by Mary Powell (Ancient City Press, 1992) and I've always liked it because it helps to balance all those big bad wolf stories out there!

Yamana myth, Tierra del Fuego

This is a combined adaptation of two short myths from
Folk Literature of the Yamana Indians
, edited by Johannes Wilbert (University of California Press, 1977). I was delighted to find these winter stories told by the people who live nearer than anyone else to the Antarctic and the South Pole.

Scottish myth

I have heard and read dozens of different versions of this ancient Celtic story about the Cailleach (which is Gaelic for old woman) so the version I tell is a patchwork of many others. I must admit that I've changed this story more than usual – I was always a bit annoyed by Brid just waiting for Angus to save her, so I came up with a way for her to signal Angus, and also let her fight the storm hags. If you want to read a very traditional version, try
Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend
, by Donald Alexander McKenzie (Black and Sons, 1917).

Ukrainian folktale

I first met these cheerful little spiders in the
Lion Storyteller Christmas Book
by Bob Hartmann (Lion Publishing, 2000) and was delighted to discover, after a little research, the Ukrainian (and German) tradition of spider decorations on Christmas trees.

Maori legend

This is the only story I tell about someone's first experience of winter weather, and I love sharing it with children because when Ngatoro is climbing the mountain, someone always whispers, “It's snow!” long before I say what the white stuff is. I first found the story in
Myths and Legends of Maoriland
by AW Reed (Allen and Unwin, 1946) and adapted it after I'd done some research into legends about the Maoris' arrival in Aotearoa.

Canadian folktale

This was one of the first traditional tales I ever told out loud, having found a version of it by Alison Hedger in
Children's Christmas Songbook
(Chester Music, 2003) and then added details of my own. So this was my first winter story and my first bear story!

Canaanite myth, Eastern Mediterranean